BioWare unveilsUltima Forever: Quest for the Avatar, the promised announcement of a new free-to-play game, which turns out will be a new installment in the Ultima series of role-playing games when it is released later this year for Windows and iPads (with cross-platform support). The Ultima Forever Website is online, and is already accepting applications from prospective beta testers. There is an article about this on IGN where Paul Barnett tells them the game will feature Diablo-style combat, and should be available soon, since it is currently in the polishing stage. Here's part of the IGN description of the game, since it is more informative than the announcement:

Ultima Forever is a throwback to classic Ultima games, with mechanics grounded in Ultima IV. Starting as either a fighter or a mage (a druid and paladin class are coming later), your hero sets out on a quest to become the Avatar, a person who embodies what are known as the eight Virtues. Using a Baldur's Gate-like isometric perspective, you'll guide your hero either alone or with friends through hours and hours of quests, battling it out with monsters and making hard choices until your character embodies the virtues and reaches the end-game dungeons. Once you beat it, becoming the Avatar, you then start a new game plus, playing through all the content again on an even harder setting.

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Ultima 6, 7, Underworld 2, and UO are all in my top 10 favorite games of all time. *With the first Elder Scrolls, Syndicate, Privateer, Monkey Island, and a few others rounding out the list* I'm also halfway through a replay of Ultima 3 Exodus as we speak. However, being a hardcore Ultima fan, I could care less about this new one. In my opinion it isn't even an Ultima game, just another gimmick with the name Ultima slapped on it like that online strategy game from a few years ago. I can't complain though, even if one person plays it and likes it enough to try some of the REAL classic Ultima's, then I'm happy.